Halfmoon developer indicted in fraud case

BALLSTON SPA >> Well-known Halfmoon developer Bruce Tanski was indicted Friday by the state Attorney General’s office for alleged irregularities associated with campaign contributions to an elected official.

Tanski, Katina M. Fogarty and Nicholas M. DiNovo Jr. were arraigned Friday morning in State Supreme Court in Ballston Spa before Judge Jerry J. Scarano. All three appeared before the judge, and all three answered not guilty to the charges stemming from the unsealed indictment.

Fogarty is employed by Tanski. DiNovo works for a separate, private firm that does business with the developer.

The charges are the result of a joint investigation by the Attorney General’s office, the FBI, and the investigative arm of the state Comptroller’s office. The sealed indictment was handed down by a Saratoga County grand jury.

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Tanski arrived at the Saratoga County Municipal Complex in Ballston Spa around 9:30 a.m. wearing dark trousers, shirt, and tie with a gray sport coat. His hands were cuffed behind his back and he was surrounded by FBI agents and investigators from the state Attorney General’s office.

He is charged with one count of offering a false instrument for filing, a class E felony; six counts of campaign contribution violations, a class A misdemeanor, and one count of election law violations, a class A misdemeanor. All charges stem from his alleged illegal contributions to former Halfmoon Supervisor Melinda “Mindy” Wormuth’s re-election campaign fund.

Though they are listed with Tanski as defendants, Fogarty and DiNovo Jr. are each listed once in the indictment and are facing misdemeanor campaign contribution violations.

On count one, of filing a false instrument, the grand jury found Tanski allegedly defrauded the state through his knowledge that a financial disclosure report for the Friends of Mindy Wormuth campaign fund, filed in July 2013, contained false information.

On the six counts of campaign contribution fraud, the grand jury said Tanski allegedly made a series of payments to the campaign fund under another name.

On count number eight, election law violations, the grand jury found Tanski allegedly “contributed, accepted and aided, and participated in the acceptance of a contribution in an amount exceeding an applicable maximum specified by law.”

The parties in the case have until Oct. 7 for motions. No return appearance date was set Friday.

Shortly after the arraignment, State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office released a statement on the indictment and the defendants’ appearance in court. In it, the attorney general said Tanski is charged with using six straw donors to illegally funnel contributions to Wormuth’s campaign account.

Tanski is alleged to have circumvented election and campaign law contribution limits with the assistance of the six others, including Fogarty and DiNovo Jr. The developer is accused of illegally evading the $1,000 limit on contributions by providing the six with $1,000 each. It is alleged that they, in turn, issued checks from their personal accounts to Wormuth’s campaign fund.

Schneiderman said Tanski contributed a total of $6,000 to Wormuth’s campaign through the straw donors in violation of the $1,000 contribution limit.

Wormuth is also facing court appearances as she deals with federal and state charges in separate indictments. A federal lawsuit alleges she took money after promising to use her position as supervisor to influence a vote on allowing Mixed Martial Arts. The state charge alleges she stole money from her campaign accounts.

In his statement on Friday’s indictment, the attorney general’s office said Tanski was admonished by the state Board of Elections for exceeding the $1,000 contribution limits to Wormuth’s campaigns funds in 2007 and 2009.

Neither Tanski nor his attorney, William J. Dreyer, could be reached for comment.